Police: E'town schools locked down after false report of gunman

ELIZABETHTOWN, KY (WAVE) – T.K. Stone Middle School and Morningside
Elementary School in Elizabethtown were placed on lock down briefly Wednesday
morning after a student called 911 to falsely report the presence of a gunman
on campus, according to police and the superintendent of Elizabethtown
Independent Schools.

Elizabethtown Police Department Spokesperson Virgil Willoughby said a person
called the department at 9:12 a.m. and stated in a whisper that officers were
needed at T.K. Stone. Willoughby said the same person had spoken with Hardin
County Control, the county's 911 dispatch center, and stated that someone at
the school was in possession of a gun.

As a result of the phone call, T.K. Stone Middle School and Morningside
Elementary School, which are located within the same building, were placed on
lock down, according to district superintendent Gary French.

Officers who responded to T.K. Stone did not locate a person carrying a gun
but were able to identify the phone number used to make the call, Willoughby
said. The number was tracked to a male student at the school. He was taken into
custody and cited for falsely reporting an incident and disorderly conduct.

Willoughby stressed that students, faculty and staff were never in danger.

French said parents were notified about the situation via the district's
one-call notification system at approximately 10:19 a.m., once district
officials were certain they had accurate information from police and school
administrators. French said the district handled the situation in the best
possible manner.